A typical Superman plot consists of burning buildings, damsels in distress, and a text book "bad guy" trying to take over the world. However, Superman always puts the "bad guy" behind bars and walks away unharmed. Innocent damsels and civilians are never hurt when Superman saves the day. He always has a clear choice between right and wrong, and in the end, things always work out the way he wants them to. But, what would it be like if Superman was placed in a realistic city? Would he see the line between right and wrong as clearly? Moral dilemmas and shades of gray surround real life issues. He would feel overwhelmed with the amount of corruption and crime around him. Things would not work out in his favor as easily and, perhaps, he would not be able to save the day using his old methods of crime fighting. .
A stereotypical superhero, like Superman, can not function in a world with gray areas. In order for heroes to function in a real life situation, they can not be stereotypical or conventional. For example, the "heroes" in Watchmen live in a real city, New York. They are only able to function in this real city because they are unconventional heroes, or "anti-heroes." They make decisions in the midst of moral dilemma and sometimes do immoral things. In my opinion, Watchmen argues against the possibility of a stereotypical superhero's existence in the modern world.
From the beginning of Watchmen, we realize that Rorschach acts as a type of detective in the movie. He narrates his thoughts and motivations in "Rorschach's Journal." When he realizes that the man murdered on October 11, 1985 was The Comedian, a retired member of the "Watchmen", he immediately decides to find out who killed him and why. He comes up with a theory that the killer plans to kill all masked superheroes. Initially, Rorschach seems like a somewhat stereotypical detective.
